Feeling the squeeze, new to this - gold protection strategies for inflation?

• •Okay, so I just opened a Gold IRA account a few months back – dipping my toes in for the first time.
• •My regular 401k feels like it's just treading water when I factor in how much less a dollar buys these days.
• •I got pitched the gold idea as an inflation hedge, which made a lot of sense conceptually.

Okay, so I just opened a Gold IRA account a few months back – dipping my toes in for the first time. I put about $75k into it from some savings I had, mostly because I'm seriously watching the news out here in Denver and just feeling this constant inflation pressure on everything. Running my small business, I see prices for supplies going up, then labor costs, then I have to adjust my own pricing and it feels like a never-ending cycle. My regular 401k feels like it's just treading water when I factor in how much less a dollar buys these days.

I got pitched the gold idea as an inflation hedge, which made a lot of sense conceptually. I mean, my dad always talked about gold during tough times. But now that I've actually got some capital in it, I'm trying to figure out if I'm doing enough, or if there are other angles I should be considering. Is it really just "buy and hold" with precious metals, or are there more active strategies people use to maximize their inflation protection?

For those of you who have been in this game longer, especially those who experienced the higher inflation periods in the past – what did you learn? Did you adjust your allocation based on economic forecasts? Are there specific types of gold or silver that perform better in different inflation environments? And should I be looking at other precious metals like platinum or palladium for diversification, especially since this sub is about Platinum IRAs?

Any practical advice or just sharing your experiences would be super helpful. Just trying to make sure I'm making smart moves for my family's future, because this current economic climate feels pretty wild.